“And if it isn’t?”
“It doesn’t matter,” I said, smiling at him. “Because I’m already taken.”
Peter kissed me again, harder this time, as if he was claiming me as his prize. His hand inched up the back of my neck, and he laced his fingers through my hair, pulling me closer. After he broke the kiss, he stared into my eyes. “I want you to remember that kiss when you’re in the castle.”
I felt faint, like someone had sapped all my strength. I fought to keep my knees from buckling. Again, the fierce heat of desire roared inside of me, and I forced myself to keep my head straight. “I will.”
He smiled, seemingly pleased with my answer. “Good girl,” he whispered in my ear.
Shivers ran down my spine. Normally, I would’ve protested being patronized that way, but instead I laid my head down on Peter’s chest, ignoring the unsettled feeling in the pit of my stomach and wondering what it was about him that made me feel the way I did whenever we were together.
Chapter 3
May fifteenth seemed to take forever to come around. When it finally did, my best friend Grace came over to hang out while I got ready for the Korzhas’ dinner party.
“You have to take pictures,” she said, bubbling over with excitement. Grace had yet to receive an invitation and was almost as thrilled by mine as I was.
“Don’t you think that would be kind of rude?”
She made a pouty face. “What if I never get invited?”
“You will. Beaver Falls is not that big of a town. I’m sure eventually your name will get pulled out of their hat.”
“Do you think that’s how they decide?”
I shrugged. “It could be.”
“You look amazing, by the way,” Grace said.
I’d chosen a red dress, which was completely out of character for me. Normally, I wasn’t one for flashy colors, but as I’d rummaged through my wardrobe, something about that dress called to me. I’d bought it years ago when I was in college, planning to wear it to a frat party, but at the last minute changed my mind. It fit me like a glove, hugging my curves. I’d never worn anything that sexy before. Even though I was too shy to wear it back then, I couldn’t bring myself to return it to the store. I’d reasoned that one day I’d find the right occasion to wear it, and now I had.
I held my hair up off my neck and glanced in the mirror. “What do you think? Hair up or down?”
“Down, definitely.”
I let my hair drop down over my shoulders. Grace was right. The color of the dress brought out the red highlights in my hair.
Grace stood up and rested her chin on my shoulder. “If you nab one of those Korzha brothers tonight, I swear I’m going to die of jealousy.”
I laughed. “You sound like Peter.”
“I don’t blame him for being worried. I mean Peter’s handsome, and he’s got a lot of money, but he’s no prince.”
I turned around to look at her. “You know that’s just a rumor, right?”
She shook her finger at me. “Don’t spoil my fantasy. Everyone who’s visited that castle says those brothers are fairytale handsome, that they’re princes from some country in Europe, where I bet they’ve got an even bigger castle than the one here. They throw those dinner parties so they can find their future queen. It’s all so Cinderella-like.”
“Well, unlike you, I don’t believe in fairytales.”
“I don’t need to be a queen, though. Princess Grace has a nice sound to it, doesn’t it? I’d settle for marrying one of the younger brothers. There are three of them, after all. Those are decent chances. Aren’t they?”
I laughed again. “You’re so goofy.”
“What? Don’t tell me you haven’t thought about the possibility of marrying a prince.”
“No. I haven’t,” I said, turning back to the mirror to finish applying my makeup. “I’m not going to this dinner party to land a husband, I’m going because I’ve wanted to see the inside of that castle since I was a little girl. That’s all.”
Dad knocked on my bedroom door. “Are you ready yet?”
I smoothed my hair with my hands, took one last glance at myself, and grabbed a jacket from my closet. “I’m coming.”
Grace followed us outside. “Call me when you get home,” she said. “I want to hear everything.”
“I will.”
While Grace drove off, Dad and I piled into his beat-up burgundy Volvo. The Korzhas’ castle was on the outskirts of Beaver Falls. My dad kept driving until all we saw was the road in front of us and the trees that flanked it on both sides. There were no signs that pointed visitors in the right direction, so it was easy to miss the path that marked the entrance to the castle’s grounds.
“Take a right up ahead,” I said pointing.
“Willow, relax. I know where we’re going.”
The gates that surrounded the castle came into view first. I lifted my gaze. There were lights on in the downstairs rooms. My heart drummed in anticipation.
I’d never been in a castle before. Not that there were many to choose from in America. From time to time, I’d fantasized about what it would be like to live in Europe. In college I’d hoped to spend a year abroad, but that had just been a dream. The Korzhas’ castle was about as close as I’d ever get to living out that fantasy.
For years, the Korzha family only visited in the summer, but for some reason, the brothers had decided to make their stay here permanent. No one knew why, because no one really knew the Korzhas. They didn’t mingle with the residents of Beaver Falls, but we always knew when they were in town because they sent people to do their shopping for them. With their fancy suits and thick accents, those people stood out like sore thumbs.
The gossip around town was that the men who lived in the castle had decided to remain in
